


Young God

by somnux



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Angst, Bullying, Dark, Drama, Drug Dealing, Existential Angst, M/M, Mystery, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Thriller, Underage Drinking, Underage Drug Use
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-14
Updated: 2018-04-28
Packaged: 2019-04-22 16:35:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 4
Words: 15,569
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14312787
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/somnux/pseuds/somnux
Summary: Lee Taeyong's sudden disappearance stirs a deep curiosity within Mark—a freshman that holds him dearly in his heart. Little did Mark know that the closer he gets to uncovering the truth, the deeper he disturbs the existence of a rabbit hole kept in secrecy.





	1. nine lives

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heya!  
> so yeah this is a high school mystery drama fic starring nct lol  
> most of them were age shifted to fit in the story. i'll be leaving more info on the notes per chapter for clarification
> 
> also! this kind of story is a first for me lol i normally write fluffy shit and it shows on my writing style lmao but yeah this is CRIME AND MYSTERY and deals with some deep shit so good luck to me (us)
> 
> hope you guys enjoy!

Mark has been absentmindedly tapping his fingers on the table in a rhythm only his subconsciousness is aware of. He’s been sitting diligently in their student council office since the bell rang that afternoon for dismissal; as class representative, he has responsibilities and couldn’t rain check on impromptu meetings. He dragged himself to the office with a frustrated sigh. 

Almost an hour after, their student council president continued to speak in the front with his array of future school plans, but not a single word registered in Mark’s mind. He’s too preoccupied about being upset, and can’t find it in himself to care about any school activities at the moment despite being usually an active participant on meetings. He feels like there are more important matters that demand discussion, instead of the events and petty school regulations that they keep on refreshing themselves of. 

Their president reaches the last page of the papers and skims through the whole thing one last time, checking if he missed any other points. “And… that’s it? Yeah, I guess that’s it!” He beams at everyone, throwing the papers in the air. “Meeting adjourned! Thanks for everyone’s time!” 

The rest of the student council members cheer in unison. They start to stand up one by one to prepare to leave when Mark almost shouted, unable to hold himself any longer. "Wait! Um… Are there no updates about… Taeyong?” 

Their group falls silent after that, and Mark’s almost pissed that they seem to have forgotten about it already in such a short period of time, as if they won’t remember any of it had it been not brought up. It’s the only thing that matters to Mark currently, the only reason why he still attended the meeting in the first place. “I mean… It’s been two full weeks since the news broke out, and we still have no solid information on the case.” 

“Yeah, well, about that…” Their president trails off with a head scratch. “I did ask the principal this morning when he handed me these papers, but he said the police still don’t have any clues of his whereabouts.” 

“That’s really odd…” A fellow member says as he shoves his notebook inside his bag. “Just suddenly disappearing like that.” 

“As unfortunate as it sounds, I seriously believe that he’s been kidnapped,” their secretary joins in on the conversation. “Knowing Taeyong, he won’t do anything like this at will. He won’t damage his records this badly by missing school for how many days.” 

“And the police still can’t contact any relatives?” Mark continues, his curiosity immensely piqued. “I mean, isn’t this too bizarre? How about any CCTV footages? Or clinics or hospitals where he might have been brought to if he got in an accident?!” He clamors, letting his mind speak out. “It’s like they’re not even trying to find him or something. No one can just suddenly… vanish like that.” 

“I’m sorry, but I really have no idea Mark,” their president replies in a sympathetic, almost frustrated tone. “Don’t worry though. As soon as I get anything new and verified, I’ll let you know right away. For now, all we can do is hope for the best.” 

Mark pouted before heaving a sigh. He didn’t intend to sound like he was lashing out, but his emotions were just too pent up. “Yeah. Thanks for that.” 

No one can really blame Mark for being too worried about his senior's safety. After all, it was _the_ Lee Taeyong that went mysteriously missing after a night at cram school. 

Everyone adores Taeyong, being the precious golden boy of their school. He aces all of his classes while juggling extra-curricular work as vice president of their student council. He’s popular and kind—all warm smiles and sheepish chuckles. He’s clever and playful—always nice to everyone, always saying what they want to hear. On top of all that, he's got the face of an angel. 

In fact, he’s so well-loved by everyone in their school that he’s never been involved in any school fights yet. Considering that they’re in an exclusive school for boys where fist-fights and brawls are the norm, it’s a surprising feat to achieve. 

He’s almost perfect—almost too good to be real, and Mark idolizes him to no end ever since their first student council meeting. Mark’s the representative of his class—thanks to his perfectly pristine records back in middle school—and he can’t forget how cool Taeyong was when he gave an assurance to all of the freshmen that he’s always ready to help, that he’s just one call away, that they can always rely on him. Mark’s heart was swelling with both pride and joy back then, thinking about how lucky he was to be in the exact same room as this beautiful human. 

Needless to say, it was not only Mark that almost broke down when the police came rushing to the principal's office several days ago to confirm Taeyong's disappearance. An emergency school assembly was held that same day, the police announcing that they needed the cooperation and honesty of everyone for the commencing investigation. 

Apparently, the last time he was seen was when he went to a convenience store after a study session in his cram school, at around 10 in the evening. He didn't come home that night nor attended school the next day. His homeroom teacher suspected something was off when his mother couldn’t be contacted either after the 3rd day of being absent. 

The entire school has been subjected to further investigation the following days, with a few detectives pulling out people from classes occasionally for an interview. It continued on for roughly three consecutive days, until the police stopped coming all of a sudden and the investigation seemed to have been left in a standstill. 

This made a lot of people upset and unsatisfied, but not as much as how Mark was, especially when he believes that he was the last person to see Taeyong before his disappearance. They bumped into each other in the convenience store the same night he was presumptively last seen, initially giving Mark a vital role in the investigation. However, after more than two interrogations, the police was simply unable to find any significant information or connection that may lead them to Taeyong's whereabouts, or how he disappeared in the first place. 

Two weeks have passed since that eventful night, and no further news have been made available yet. Mark just can’t handle the suspense anymore, and wants to do something about it—specifically, he wants to know _more_ and ultimately track Taeyong down, wherever he is. 

Their president notices the worry painted on Mark’s face and smiles brightly at him, placing an arm around his narrow shoulders to try comforting him. “Everything will be fine in the end. You’ll see.” 

Mark—pulled out from his recollection of the previous days—smiles blankly in return, with hundreds of questions still running in his mind that he decided to keep to himself for now, knowing that no one have any answers to them anyway. “Yeah. I guess we’ll see.” 

 

— 

Mark has always been the curious one, always possessing a natural knack for wanting to know everything and be a part of everything. Some may mistake it for being too prissy or straight-laced, and he often gets into trouble whenever people call him names like being a teacher’s pet or a kiss-ass. He abhors it—swears that it makes his stomach twist whenever he hear it from people, and always wished that they see him the same way they see Taeyong; just natural and effortless, not forced. 

What he lacked in social skills though was compensated by his clean school records, being regarded by the faculty as a worthy and promising student. At least he can boast the fact that he and Taeyong is similar in that aspect; he just need to work more on appealing to a mass of snotty high school students. 

Thankfully, his thirst for acceptance and access for confidential matters can be quenched by being a member of the student council, hitting two birds with one stone. And while he may not have the largest circle of friends, he’s lucky enough to have a few genuine ones—one of which also happens to be a son of a police investigator; Na Jaemin. 

“Wait, are you hearing yourself right now, Mark Lee?" His friend asks in a suspecting tone. He contacted them to meet him after school for a kind of favor that he knew would be turned down blatantly anyway, but he still gave it a shot and asked Jaemin. "You're asking me to ask my dad confidential stuff about the investigation?!" 

Mark smiles at him in an abashed manner, all doe eyes and clasped hands ready to beg. "Na Jaemin, please, you're the only one I can count on. It can even help with the investigation! I mean, the police even said that we can go to them if we have anything we think can help, right? Well, how can we start about getting information if we don't know where to start?" 

"Oh my God," Jaemin mutters under his breath, lowering his head in disbelief. "So you're actually serious. I can't believe this." 

Mark just chuckles sheepishly. Their other friend—Jeno—is too busy sipping his blueberry slurpee to bother joining in on their conversation. They’re in the local convenience store where he bumped into Taeyong before his disappearance, insisting for his two friends to join him there. 

"Look, even if I try to ask my dad, I'll just be shot down," his friend tries to reason out. "He's not stupid. We're schoolmates with the missing person. Do you think he'll just casually let me in on what’s going on in their team?" 

"But I'm not asking you to be completely involved and know everything! Just a tiny little detail that can jumpstart my own investigation!" Mark explains enthusiastically, his voice a bit pitched than normal. "It's for the greater good, Jaemin. Just... I don't know, ask him if he can let you poke your nose a little on the business?" 

"Wait, your dad mentioned something about this man they went to for an interrogation, right?" Jeno finally made his presence known, asking Jaemin suddenly. "Remember? He even asked us if—" 

"Jeno! Shut up!" Jaemin cuts him off in a panicky tone. 

But it’s too late. Mark’s already staring at the two of them with squinting eyes. 

"No. Look, it's nothing important, alright?" Jaemin tries to defend himself while shooting daggers at a clueless Jeno beside him. 

"I think it _is_ very much important, yes," Mark says in a playful tone. "C’mon Nana, spill it." 

"No," Jaemin replies almost instantly. "Curiosity killed the cat, Mark Lee. That phrase was invented for you. Keep that in mind.” 

"You can't get killed over a tiny bit of information though," Mark dodges his friend's protests. “I’m not gonna overstep on territories I'm not bound to be a part of, okay? I’ll just stay on the other side of the fences, peeking. Just help me out here, please?” 

Jaemin remained silent for a while as he stared deep into Mark's huge eyes. Immediately figuring out that he won’t be left alone in peace until he gives in, he eventually sighs and averts his squinted gaze to his best friend Jeno instead, who is still sitting beside him innocently. "I'm gonna kill you, I swear." 

Jeno freezes on his spot but didn't say a thing. 

"Okay. I guess this is safe to disclose because my dad even asked me and this stupid puppy over here about it," he casually says while pointing an accusing finger at Jeno's side, who is back to sipping his slurpee again like normal. "My dad asked us if we know anything about Taeyong going to a neurologist." 

"Neurologist?" Mark repeats the word, sounding too foreign in his ears. He furrows his eyebrows as he tries to recall their few brief exchanges at school. "I... can’t say it was brought up during our small conversations?" He says dubiously. "He often miss a few meetings in student council though because he goes to his dentist." 

Jaemin's face lit up with that. "Dentist, huh?" 

Mark’s the next to have a light switch moment, a sudden flash of clarity in his eager mind. "...You think he's actually going to a neurologist all those times?" 

"He could be," Jaemin replies casually. He switched back to his usual cool persona instantly, as if he just didn't get excited a while ago. "Maybe he's getting checkups?" 

" _A neurologist treats disorders that affect the brain, spinal cord, and nerves,_ ” Jeno suddenly butts in, holding his phone a few inches away from his face as he reads his Google search result. " _…such as: Cerebrovascular disease, or stroke. Demyelinating diseases of the central nervous system, such as multiple sclerosis…_ ” He trails off before grunting. “Ugh, I don't understand any of these.” 

"So it's not a mental sickness," Mark concludes while slowly scratching his chin. "He should've gone to a psychiatrist or psychologist if that's the case." 

"Yes," Jaemin adds. "Maybe he has some complication or disorder in the spine or something. Never saw him doing much athletic stuff before." 

"Yeah..." Mark responds absentmindedly, his mind wildly formulating new possibilities and scenarios again. "I guess there's only one way to find out." 

Jaemin rolls his eyes and exhales deeply. "Stop it. You promised me you won't get into this too deeply." 

"But your dad may need the answer too!" Mark tries to justify, panicking and waving his hands around furiously. "He asked the two of you so it shouldn’t be too confidential, right? Any new information or feedback related to the case is important, right?" 

"He has a point, you know," Jeno agrees, his words directed at Jaemin. "It could further help the progress of the investigation if we find out what sickness he has." 

"Don't you two think that the police must've interrogated this man already?" Jaemin objects in a frustrated tone. "It won't do any good to visit his clinic in the Coex Mall anymore! They've already been there today!" 

His two friends fell silent after that, and Mark stares at Jaemin with widened eyes. The latter just buries his face in his hands and sighs in defeat. 

 

— 

The next day at school, Mark can’t contain his excitement and almost jumps out of his seat when the afternoon bell goes off for dismissal. He couldn’t focus on anything else during his classes, but figures that he can still survive the school year with flying colors as long as he do well on his tests. He knows he can catch up on the studying later, when the whole Lee-Taeyong-is-missing fiasco is over. 

Getting the rest of the information from Jaemin about the neurologist turned out to be a piece of cake after that one slip. His friend seemed to have given up and succumbed to his incessant pestering the night before, yet Mark can’t shake off the feeling that he didn’t tell him everything he knows—either that or Jaemin just simply have no further idea about the case. While his friend did confirm the location of the clinic that Taeyong used to visit, Mark’s gut feeling still tells him that there’s more to it than just that—that Taeyong might be in a deeper trouble than what the surface may have looked like. 

Whether the police knows more about it or not is something he can’t confirm though, and he knows he only has one option available at the moment. 

He runs to the nearest bus stop as vigorously as his legs would permit, and gets on the bus heading to Cheongdam. 

He’s also alone; his two other friends refusing to join him on a mission they believe would be fruitless anyway. Jaemin tried to discourage Mark on going to the clinic as hard as how Mark tried to convince them to join him, but no one emerged victorious in the end. Mark’s determination can’t be swayed, and Jaemin’s willpower was strong enough to keep on declining his request. 

The mall isn’t too far and the bus ride shouldn’t take more than 15 minutes tops, so Mark didn’t waste any time rehearsing how he will ask the doctor about Taeyong’s health. He formulated a few questions during class, tried to play around with the tone of his voice to see which sounded more professional, and even considered dropping by a shop for a quick change of clothes. Ultimately, he decided to show up in his school uniform to show the doctor that he is truly a schoolmate of Taeyong, that he can be trusted. 

He goes off the bus as soon as it stopped on the station nearest to the mall, and Mark started sprinting across the sidewalk, not minding his heavy shoulder bag swinging from side to side as he runs. He eventually arrives in the entrance while panting and breaking out in sweat. 

“Hello,” he greets as politely as possible to the guards in the entrance, who are all staring at him with furrowed eyebrows. 

He walks through the glass doors quickly and headed straight to the electronic directory panel, tapping on the ‘Clinics and Healthcare’ category to search for the neurologist’s office. 

A few more taps after and the clinic shows up on the results; 4th floor, right wing. Mark started walking as hastily as possible without looking suspicious. 

He should look for a Choi Siwon, according to his friend. How Jaemin got the name was beyond Mark’s comprehension, and he hopes that he didn’t just invent a random name on the spot to shove him off. He figures that Jaemin’s father may ask students if they know anything about Taeyong going to doctors, but will actually avoid name drops as much as possible; that small detail can cause trouble if publicized. Perhaps Jaemin was secretly curious too and asked his dad, or maybe it’s his father’s plan all along to spread the doctor’s name and entice more people into the case—Mark can only guess at this point. 

He reaches the place eventually and was greeted by the receptionist, followed by a query if he came with a scheduled appointment. Mark answers that he was unable to schedule one but would like to see Dr. Choi Siwon specifically for a consultation. The receptionist then asks if he has his health card with him, and Mark confirms that he does and that he’s a registered dependent of his father’s healthcare account. He hands her his card and was asked to take a seat in the lobby for the meantime. Mark thanks her with a bow and gives himself an internal pat on the back for successfully delivering his practiced lines. 

Soon after, the receptionist comes back to him with a confirmation that Dr. Choi is all set to receive patients. Mark thanks her again and follows her lead. 

He’s starting to get nervous as they walk, his palms sweaty and his heartbeat erratic. He was escorted by the receptionist until they reach a white door across the other side of the corridor, with the doctor’s name plated on a small, glossy steel. 

The receptionist knocks on the door and waited for a few seconds before opening it, revealing a man clad in white coat sitting in a clean desk. He looks younger than how Mark perceived him in his mind, with his hair even styled in a slick suave. He looks tall too, considering how wide his shoulders are. 

“Here’s the highschooler looking for you, Dr. Choi,” the receptionist says politely, the corner of her lips forming a little smile. 

“Yes, please come in,” the man replies, his voice deep and intimidating. 

Mark gulps hard before entering. The receptionist bows to the two of them before shutting the door close, leaving him alone with the doctor. 

“Please have a seat,” Dr. Choi suggests with a smile, but it didn’t help with lightening the mood at all. He looks too sharp and professional in Mark’s eyes. “How can I help you?” 

Mark sits himself on the right chair and smiles at the man, trying to summon enough confidence to not stutter. “Hi, I’m Mark Lee. N-Nice to meet you,” he says as he extended a hand to the other. 

The doctor tames it and they shake hands slowly. The man’s hand is heavy against Mark’s grip; the expensive gold watch adorning his wrist seems to be adding weight to it. 

After the terribly awkward handshake, Mark starts to get down on his business. “So, um, I’m a friend of Taeyong’s, and—” 

“Ahh yes, a friend,” Dr. Choi cut his sentence off, crossing his arms in front of him. He looks amused. “I can tell with the uniform. You go to the same school?” 

“Oh, y-yes,” Mark replies with an embarrassed smile, glancing down on his polo shirt. It’s a perfect idea to show up in his uniforms, he thought. “Anyway, um, I’d just like to—” 

“That’s a bit odd,” the man cuts him off again, his voice seems to sound even more amused. “Taeyong never brought me a schoolmate before. How old are you, Mark Lee?” 

Mark is starting to get confused, but tries to play along. He chuckled a bit before replying. “F-Fifteen, sir,” he said. 

“Figures,” the doctor says blankly, as if he’s expecting that answer. “So…” he continues, extending an open hand to Mark, “…where is it?” 

Mark is taken aback, unable to reply right away as his thoughts clash against one another. He can’t decide what answer to give. “U-Um… Where’s the what?” 

The expression on Choi Siwon’s face quickly shifted after that, furrowing his eyebrows and squinting at Mark with eagle eyes. “…I’m sorry. What’re you here for again?” 

Mark gulps hard again. He definitely didn’t rehearse this scenario a while ago in the bus. “Um, I-I’m here to ask Lee Taeyong’s health state? Any information about his sickness or… his medical records, maybe?” 

“And who are you to Taeyong again?” The doctor asks, seemingly vexed. The amusement in his voice is gone, replaced by annoyance. 

“Um, a friend?” 

Dr. Choi seemed to snap after that and almost slams his fist on the table in front of them. “Please leave.” 

“What? No, I—” 

“If… If you’re not here for a personal consultation, please leave. We don’t disclose the information of our patients.” He firmly says. 

But Mark can’t contain his curiosity again. He’s also slightly agitated, giving his confidence a little boost to resist. “No, I can’t. I-I need to understand what’s wrong with him. Please.” 

“Look, kiddo,” the doctor replies in a low and threatening voice. “That’s not for you to know. I have patients waiting for me outside. Please step out while I’m still giving you a chance.” 

Mark’s on the verge of lashing out again but he controls himself, clenching both of his hands into fists on his lap. “Dr. Choi, I don’t know if you’re aware, but Lee Taeyong is missing. We need any help that we can get to search for him.” 

“Stop playing detective, kiddo,” the other says condescendingly in the same sharp and low voice. His expression is unreadable when he looks at him in the eyes. “I’m calling security if you waste any more of my time.” 

Mark comes back to his senses at the sound of the word ‘security’, eyes widened and mouth slightly agape. “A-Alright, I’m leaving,” he says in almost a whisper. He suddenly realized that he can’t afford to get his school record tainted with misconduct and calmed down instantly. “I-I’m sorry. Please forget that I ever came here.” 

Mr. Choi’s expression is still unreadable, staring at him coldly as if waiting for him to finally take his leave. 

Mark bites his lower lip, staring down on his shoes, ashamed. When the agitation wore off, fear and intimidation emerged after. His knees are starting to shake when he stood up. He muttered another apology before bowing quickly and turning around to leave for the door. 

He hurries to the receptionist as rapidly as possible and asks for his health card back. As soon as it was handed back to him, he sprints out of the clinic and stole one last glance behind him—the receptionist staring back at him with a confused expression—before he runs to the nearest elevator. 

He was panting and sweating when he entered the elevator, and sighed in relief when the door closes. He wants to be out of that building as soon as possible, as far away from Choi Siwon as possible. 

A sudden vibrations comes from his pocket and he reaches for his phone; it’s an incoming call from Jaemin. He taps the answer button with shaking hands. “ _Heya! How’s our lil detective Conan?_ ” 

Mark—still panting—exhaled deeply before answering: “…Damn. You’re right. Curiosity really does kill cats," he said in between short breaths. "Good thing they have nine lives.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> uwu


	2. let me in your ocean

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heya guys!
> 
> so lemme explain this to avoid confusion lol  
> half of this entire story will be told in Mark's POV in the present time, while the other half will be told in the POV of people that played a big part in Taeyong's life.  
> these chapters won't be in a linear, chronological order though. the present time (Mark POV) will be the odd-numbered chapters, while flashbacks are the even numbers.
> 
> anyways! here's chapter 2. enjoy~

_A few months ago._

 

The bottom of a swimming pool is Sicheng’s sanctuary. Above it is what he considers hell on earth. 

He learned holding his breath longer to further enjoy the serenity of being underwater--the mild pressure against his ears, the cooling effect on his skin, the way his hair sways against the mellow currents—the calmness can last for as long as his lungs can hold air. Whenever it’s reaching its limits, he has to swim back to the surface to inhale more of it. 

And he hates it, because as soon as he sticks his head out of the water to breathe, the harsh reality always slaps him in the face. He finds it ironic—funny, even—how he feels more alive and happy when submerged in water instead of being up in the surface; abundant with air but devoid of life. 

His schoolbag was slashed again, with his notebooks thrown into the same pool he was in. Sicheng learned to cope with this reality the same way he learned how to expand his lungs to have more room for air. His notebooks are just decoys—his real notes for class are safely stored in his laptop at home. He has sewn his schoolbag countless times instead of getting a new one, knowing that they’d just slash it open again when they get the chance. 

He also learned coping to a completely foreign culture for his parents—it’d be a good school, they said; he could enroll in their special swimming program, they said; it’d be a fun and an eye-opening experience, they said. Sicheng agreed with high hopes, leaving his home country behind to spend highschool in a country he never even got to visit once in the past. 

While he did get accepted for the swimming program, everything else he was hopeful for didn’t happen. It was eye-opening indeed, as he witnessed firsthand how cruel and unfair people can be if you look weaker in their eyes. 

He swims back to the surface again, inhaling deeply as soon as his nostrils detected freedom from water. The adrenaline of finally inhaling oxygen again after holding it for so long was exhilarating—almost numbing Sicheng’s mind to a point where he can forget the pathetic life he’s in. _Just two more years,_ he thinks to himself. _Two more years and I’m outta here._

 

— 

He watches his dark gray pants be thrown in the air, with the wind catching it and making it flutter like a bird. 

Lucas became a bit creative that day and probably got tired of the usual abuse, so they formulated a new plan; they dragged Sicheng all the way to the rooftop after class, stripped him off of his pants and made him put on a short schoolgirl skirt before throwing his pants over the edge of the rooftop. 

He’s also trying to scare him by grabbing his collar and forcing him to lie down on the edge of the rooftop. Sicheng is fighting them back with all his energy but Lucas is just too strong; he’s only a freshman but is probably taller than everyone else, and got a very athletic body. 

"Let me go!" He screams at the top of his lungs, but even his best attempt at shouting seems to be weaker than their laughter. He’s wriggling his body with all his might, kicking and pulling his arms away from their grip. 

There is another boy in the rooftop, standing a few meters away from them. He’s not joining Lucas and his friends with bullying Sicheng, but he’s not doing anything either to make them stop. He seems to be preoccupied in his own world, singing to himself while blankly staring at the sky. Sicheng believes his name is Jungwoo, a son of one of the teachers. He yells his name, asking for help, but Jungwoo didn't even bother paying him one glance. 

The group of boys holding him down bursts into laughter again when his pants reaches the bottom of the school grounds, with a few students piling around it and wondering where it fell from. Sicheng is still trying to resist, but he’s also starting to get exhausted. He always knew that they won’t actually throw him off the rooftop anyway, that they’re just enjoying the temporary feeling of superiority and dominance. 

In his peripheral view, he notices another boy coming into the scene. He can’t make out the details that much as he’s busy wriggling around, but the boy is approaching them closer and closer until his mind finally registers who it is. 

Lee Taeyong reaches their spot and places a hand on Lucas' shoulder, catching bis attention. He turns around, Taeyong leans in close to his right ear and whispers something. 

And just like magic, he and his friends let go of Sicheng all of a sudden, turning around casually like nothing happened. 

Sicheng huffs, his breathing erratic and unstable. He pulls himself up from his lying position and steps down from the edge of the rooftop. 

Taeyong also called Jungwoo’s attention and gestures for him to leave, and the latter obediently follows his command with a nod. Sicheng discovers that he’s not deaf, after all. He just didn't care. 

"Thanks," he mutters under his breath to Taeyong, who is looking at the skirt he’s wearing with squinting eyes. 

"It's too bright up here," Taeyong replies out of the blue, not bothering on acknowledging his gratitude. "You should learn how to defend yourself." 

He remains silent with that. He knows Taeyong and every single positive adjective that is associated with him, of course; they just have never been introduced to one another yet nor talked at all. He doesn’t want to argue with him on their first meeting, but he knows how easy it is for people to give advices on something they don't experience firsthand. God knows how many times he attempted fighting back or defending himself, but it’s not that easy. _Everything is never easy,_ he thinks to himself. 

Taeyong then starts to walk around the rooftop in a daze, closing his eyes and stretching his arms to his sides. He’s holding a clear bottle of water in his right hand, the same one he seems to be always carrying around school. "The rooftop always makes me feel free and peaceful,” he says all of a sudden, basking in on the sunlight. “If the pool is your sanctuary, then this has gotta be mine, so I’d like to keep it as quiet and pristine as possible." 

Sicheng furrows his eyebrows, watching the other walk around dreamily. Is that the only reason he stopped Lucas? How did he know that the school swimming pool is sacred to him? Regardless, Sicheng agrees that the breeze does feel nice up there, almost as liberating and calming as the bottom of his pool. It’s warm and full of air; a complete contrary to his beloved sanctuary, yet oddly as pleasant and peaceful. 

"You know, sometimes I wonder how it'd feel like to be a bird," Taeyong says again in a haze, his eyes half-lidded when they locked eyes. "I could've been born a bird instead. Free to fly anywhere." 

Sicheng is lost in his words, wondering where all of those are coming from, but he doesn’t care. It’s the first time they ever interacted and the other probably doesn’t even know what his name is, but watching Lee Taeyong make a monologue to himself with his soothing and clear voice, with his blank and hypnotizing eyes, with his dark hair that flutters with every gust of wind—it’s doing things to his chest. It’s almost aching out of pure awe. He looks too beautiful to be human. 

"We are terrible and cruel. We have hearts and great minds, but we never seem to use them," Sicheng says out of nowhere, caught in the other’s dreamy haze. 

Taeyong just chuckles, almost mischievously. If Sicheng hadn’t known better, he’d mistake that tone for condescend. 

"We only have hearts for feeling pain," he adds, pouring his heart out as he watches the other continuously walk around lazily. "Why have a heart just for pain? I'd rather not be a human at all." 

Taeyong just hums in response. He stops wandering around in circles and stares back at Sicheng, whose eyes ae fixed on the bottle he’s holding. "Want some?" Taeyong asks, throwing the bottle at him. 

Sicheng's reflex is fast enough to catch it. He pops the cap open and smacks the opening to his lips to chug at the fluid, but an unpleasant taste invades his mouth and burns his throat. He pulls the bottle away from his lips quickly. "A-Alcohol?!" 

"How do you think flying would feel like?" Taeyong suddenly asks in a flat tone, ignoring Sicheng again and suddenly rushing to the edge of the rooftop, standing on it and closing his eyes as he feels another breeze of spring wind. "I bet it'd feel nice." 

"No! Wait!" Sicheng shouts, panicking and confused and exhilirated all at the same time.

Taeyong slowly turns around to look at him, his face having a soft and unreadable expression. He then smiles brightly at him, his eyes twinkling under the bright sun. "What, did you think I'd jump?" 

Sicheng is at a loss for words, completely dumbstruck. 

The other just chuckles playfully and steps down from the edge, approaching Sicheng. "You're funny," he teases. snatching back the bottle from his hand and walking past him. 

Sicheng turns around, still confused. He watches Taeyong's back as he slowly retreat to the door to leave him alone. He’s walking straight and his words were clear. He’s definitely sober, but he acted in such a daze that Sicheng found oddly profound and beautiful. He made his heart leap with his eyes, and made it leap again out of fear when he stood on the edge of the rooftop. He was caught under his spell, like how he always finds fascination in the depths of the water. 

Taeyong stops abruptly in his tracks, as if remembering something important. "By the way, if your heart is just for feeling pain, then you can remain a human for me,” he suggests without turning around to face him. He continues to walk after that and reaches for the door, leaving Sicheng behind, bewildered. 

 

— 

The bullying happened twice within the same week, much to Sicheng’s dismay. 

He’s currently wandering the corridors with a broken nose and a ruptured lip. Blood is oozing out of his face but he’s too numb to feel pain, being more concerned about staining his uniform and worrying about washing them on the weekends. 

He used to go to the faculty to report his situation, but it never got anything resolved, truthfully. It’s sickening how he draws more people into bullying him the more he attemptsto fight back. If he tell the teachers, the students will get sanctioned for a few days, and then it’ll just be back to normal—only that it’ll be much worse. 

So instead of throwing himself into its endless cycle, he figured that he should just let things be. The bullies will get tired of him soon. His nose and lips will heal in time. He just need to hang on for two more school years and he’ll be graduating. 

He managed to escape the godforsaken corridor where he got cornered by Lucas, and headed straight to the back of the school where the gymnasium and swimming pool is located. He has access to it as a student enrolled to the special swimming program, and goes straight to the lockers when he saw that the pool is completely empty. 

He quickly changes to his swimming trunks and turns on the shower, letting the stream of water wash off the blood stains on his face. He can already feel the tingling sensation of being completely submerged, anticipating how he’d drown his thoughts out in the cool waters. 

He heads straight to the pool area after finishing his quick shower, putting his swimming cap on and diving into the water without a second thought. 

He enjoyed himself in the pool for quite some time, trying out all types of swimming strokes and techniques. He’s currently floating around lazily, lying on the surface of the water and staring at the ceiling of the covered pool when a sudden splash hits his face, throwing him off balance and sinking in. 

He swims back up quickly and examines his surroundings, checking if Lucas followed him again to slash his bag and throw his things into the pool to ruin his day again. 

But it’s not the bullies that splashed water on his face; Lee Taeyong—the only beautiful creature on earth, the only student kind enough to care—is sitting at the edge of the pool with his pants rolled up to his thighs and legs submerged in the water. 

Their eyes meets, and Taeyong smiles at him—the kind that makes his eyes twinkle, the kind that makes Sicheng smile back at him automatically. “Sorry. I was calling you but you can’t hear me, so I splashed water on your face,” he says while scratching the back of his head, embarrassed. 

His voice is starting to sound like music to Sicheng’s ears. Taeyong gestures for him to sit beside him, and he quickly swims to Taeyong’s left side and pulls himself up to sit. 

“Sorry. I was busy staring at nothing,” he apologizes, avoiding the other’s gaze. It’s embarrassing to sit beside him with nothing but a pair of swimming trunks on. He tries to look away and stares down on the water when he remembered that his nose is broken and his bottom lip is chipped. 

But the other noticed it too quickly, much to his dismay. He leans closer to Sicheng’s face. “Hey, you’re hurt?” He asks blankly, examining him. “Did someone hit you?” 

“No. I-I got in an accident,” he lies, avoiding the other’s gaze again. As much as how fascinating Taeyong is, he’d rather not receive another sermon from him about fighting back and doing better. He removes his swimming cap and ruffles his soaked hair. 

Taeyong’s expression becomes unreadable for a few seconds. He then smiles brightly at him and taps him lightly in the shoulder. “Silly you. Be careful next time.” 

He hums in response, lowering his head again in embarrassment. Out of all the days they’d bump into each other again, it just has to be when his face is smashed, Sicheng thinks to himself.

He remains silent for a while, with Taeyong just casually humming and swaying his feet in the water. Sicheng occasionally steals glances at him, studying his sharp side profile and his eyes that reminded him of a cat's. 

He decides to break the ice eventually. "Uh, so what brings you here?" 

"Nothing in particular," the other replies in a noncomittal tone, eyes fixed on the dancing lights on the surface of the pool. "Just wanna check on you, I guess." 

Sicheng just hums back; he’s terrible in making conversations. He then realizes something that he forgot to bring up the last time they were in the rooftop. “Um, I’m Dong Sicheng, by the way. I don’t think i’ve ever introduced myself.” 

Taeyong then turns to face him, his lips forming a small smile. “I know,” he says casually, extending his right hand. “I’m Lee Taeyong.” 

It’s silly how he still introduced himself when everyone clearly knows him from the get-go, but Sicheng finds it odd how he knew his name already. First was the pool, now his name? Yet he didn’t give it much thought and grabs his hand nevertheless, shaking it lightly. 

"I'm probably being a bother on your practice, aren't I?" Taeyong says in a playful tone after their handshake, flashing him a smile. 

Before Sicheng can say no, the other is already standing up and preparing to leave. He grabs the nearby towel behind him and starts to wipe his legs dry. "I should prolly leave you alone, sorry!" 

"N-No, it's fine" he manages to reply, wondering how red his cheeks must have gotten. 

Taeyong just chuckles playfully. He rolls down the hem of his pants, quickly puts on his socks and slips his feet back to his shoes. "I need to go see my dentist too. See ya around!" He says, flashing him a big smile. 

Sicheng smiles back and nods. "Y-Yeah," he stutters.

With another smile, Taeyong turns around and grabs his backpack before sprinting out of the covered pool, leaving him alone. Sicheng just sighs, places his cap back on, and dives into the water again, letting both his body and mind swim freely. 

 

— 

Sicheng wakes up one day wondering if the world was somehow turned upside down. He feels like he woke up to a different reality, a different universe in which life is simply just much better. 

It’s like magic, how everyone smiled and greeted him good morning as he walked through the corridors that morning. Their tone wasn’t insulting nor patronizing; it was genuine, like how one friend would greet another when they pass by the halls. 

Sicheng didn’t want to get his hopes high in the beginning, thinking that it was just another intricately planned prank being pulled on him. He’s fallen for such schemes in the past way too many times, blindly walking straight to the trap of the master puppeteer that is Lucas. 

He realizes that it’s real when he walks through the hallways during lunch period and bumps into the boys that always followed Lucas’ orders, their eyelids swelling and violet, their cheeks reddened and bruised. They’re avoiding his gaze when they pass by, as if fearing his very presence. 

The world has been turned upside down. Sicheng feels a bit terrified when he also sees Lucas in the same corridor, looking exactly like the boys he used to order around—only that he has a cast on his broken right arm and was limping as he walk. He’s carrying his textbooks and notes in his left hand, wincing in pain with each step he takes. 

Sicheng freezes in his spot. Lucas eventually notices him and stares back blankly, his handsome face covered in bruises. He snorts smugly and continues to walk past him, not bothering to mutter anything at all. 

He accidentally drops the textbooks he’s carrying though as he walks, and curses lowly as he tries to reach down to pick them with one hand. 

On impulse, Sicheng reaches down to assist him by extending a hand, but Lucas pushes it away while hissing a curse. “Cut the crap. That’s not fair, man.” 

“…Huh?” 

“I’m not afraid of them,” Lucas hisses in a low voice as he stands up. 

Sicheng is utterly confused. “Them?" 

“Cut the bullshit!” Lucas snaps and blurts out, catching the attention of the other students wandering the halls. “Johnny and his gang. You made them do it!” 

“I-I don’t even know who that guy is. I have no idea—” 

“Shut up!” the other yells, grabbing him again by the collar with one hand. He’s seething with anger. “Stop playing innocent!” 

“Call the teachers!” A voice suddenly screams from behind him. Their little chat has attracted a crowd, Sicheng noticed. “It’s Lucas again causing trouble! Call the teachers!” 

Lucas just snorts, letting go of his grip on Sicheng’s collar. He looks at him square in the eyes one last time before turning around to pick up his books and leave. 

The crowd of students eventually disperses, and the student who shouted to his rescue was Jungwoo, approaching him from his back and placing a hand on his shoulder in a friendly gesture. “You okay? Johnny sends his regards,” he says in a playful tone. He didn’t wait for any reply and sprints to the other side of the hall, following his group of friends to the cafeteria. 

Sicheng is still frozen in his spot. Nothing makes sense to him, but it felt good. He has no idea who Johnny is, what happened to Lucas and his friends, or why the cool kids like Jungwoo started becoming friendly to him, but he knows one thing; he finally feels hopeful again about happiness, about being _alive_. He can stop cursing his own heart that only feels pain, and may no longer wish that he wasn’t born a human. 

His life will be altered drastically like magic, and Lee Taeyong—the only beautiful creature on earth, the only student kind enough to care—was the one who casted the spell. It’s scary how he can improve or destroy someone’s life entirely, as if he can wrap the entire school in his fingers and move them around as he pleases.

Perhaps he’s another chess piece in Taeyong’s ultimate game, but he doesn’t care. He’s caught by that magic too deeply to care.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ( ͡◉ ͜ʖ ͡◉)
> 
> i added bullying on the tags now.  
> i'll add more in the future as we progress further lol
> 
> peace!


	3. yin and yang

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heya!  
> okay so another disclaimer lol  
> the school system i used for this story is mostly based on the Japanese and Korean education system.  
> so that’s 3 years of middle school (typically 12-14 years old), and 3 years high school (typically 15-17)

Out of all the nicknames Mark has gotten from his friends recently, it must be the ‘Li’l detective Conan’ that he probably likes the most. Baby lion just comes second now.

He quickly set a rendezvous in a nearby café with his two friends when Jaemin phoned him back in the Coex building. He was excited to discuss his latest discoveries; not that it’s anything game-changing or drastically solid—all he has gotten out of the doctor were mysterious signals and vague theories, after all—but they can come up with something if they talk it out and brainstorm.

What he didn’t expect though was Jaemin’s own discoveries, which seems to be more promising than what Mark can lay on the table. His friend shrugged him off when Mark teased him about being more curious than he is, considering that he got something juicier despite blatantly claiming no interest on the case whatsoever. 

"So lemme get this straight," Mark clarifies as he leans closer to their little table, cutting off his friend in the middle of his explanation. "They discovered that Taeyong’s been living alone all this time?"

Jaemin eyerolls before responding. "Yes, that's what I just said."

“And this is a confirmed fact from the police?” Mark probes some more.

Jaemin sighs dramatically before answering. “Of course. You think my dad would tell me if it wasn’t?”

Mark just stares back at his friend, face painted with confusion.

Thankfully for them, Jaemin’s dad is more invested on the case than everyone else in the police team. He actively asks people—including his own son—for any information he can gather and use for the progress of the case. According to Jaemin, his dad asked him what his fellow schoolmates know about Taeyong’s background to cross-reference the findings of his investigation, and it turns out more messed up than they expected. Jaemin just had to ask his dad to spill a little more detail and he didn’t encounter any difficulties getting what he wanted.

And it leaves a bit of a sour taste on Mark’s tongue, frankly—while he’s thankful for the new info, he also can’t figure out the deal with Jaemin’s father and his seemingly innocent spillage of matters that are supposed to be confidential. Regardless, he takes his mind out of it for the meantime as Taeyong is more important for him now.

Jeno joins in on their conversation after taking a sip of his iced latte. "But he's always been alone, right? Didn’t his dad, like, kinda abandon them or something and his mom works most of the time?”

"That's what he apparently tells people at school," Jaemin replies in a sassy tone. "But listen to this; they ran a background check, and Taeyong's mother on his original birth records can't be tracked. The birth record he has in our school doesn't match with it too."

"He has a different mother registered on our school records?" Mark repeats with furrowed eyebrows.

"Ever since middle school, yes." Jaemin confirms in a hushed tone. It's definitely not the most brilliant of ideas to meet up in a café to talk about confidential police investigations, but Jaemin couldn't say no considering how his best friend Jeno also argued to meet up and talk over iced lattes. "That's why the police kind of let the school off their radar. They're not interested in his school life as it's perfectly clean—too clean, in fact, that it’s a bit suspicious for them. What they're trying to get into is his past."

"But what about the dad?" Mark asks enthusiastically. "I'm sure there's a name on his birth records."

Jeno answers him even before Jaemin can speak. "Let me guess... It's also a fake name?"

"Bingo," Jaemin confirms with one eyebrow raised. "We're getting on some real shady stuff in here."

"I... Wow..." Mark attempts to speak but trails off as he places a palm on his forehead. He’s speechless, and the fact that he normally has lots of things to say just shows how shocked he is right now. "I don't get it. He's lying all this time?"

"Well to be more specific, he didn't directly lie. He just... concealed some things from the rest of us, like he’s hiding stuff." Jaemin explains. "What the police are probably trying to solve now is who his real parents are, and how this kind of information was overlooked when he started attending our school as far back as middle school years."

"But wait, so then... Who's the 'mother' that shows up at school during his middle school graduation? Or during the enrollments? During school events and parent-teacher meetings?" Mark pries on further, waving his hand around as he tries to articulate his words.

Jaemin beams at them, as if remembering the best part of a story he almost missed. "Oh yes, this is the best part; my dad thinks that it might be some random woman acting for him," he says with a cheeky smile. "They're still trying to find this woman. Obviously the name on Taeyong's birth record doesn't match with anyone so they only have a picture of this woman from enrollment records as basis."

"Oh God, I'm starting to get creeped out," Jeno said, his voice actually shaking. He nestles closer to Jaemin sitting beside him. "So just _who_ the hell is Lee Taeyong?! And where did he come from?!”

Jaemin just shush him in response to tone down his voice.

“And those odd reactions from Choi Siwon just makes me think that Taeyong isn’t really sick at all,” Mark mutters lowly, as if talking to himself. “It was as if he’s expecting something when I told him that I’m a friend of Taeyong’s, and then suddenly lost his cool when I couldn’t answer back.”

“Well, I think I won’t be able to get any more info from my dad moving forward,” Jaemin says after they remained silent for a few seconds. “If this gets any deeper, the level of confidentiality will get more extreme too. I’m sure he won’t humor any of my questions anymore.”

“Yeah, and I think we shouldn’t really meddle with it at all,” Jeno adds in a serious tone, shaking his plastic cup and making the ice cubes inside it clink loudly to catch Mark’s attention. “This is where it ends, li’l detective.”

Mark sighs deeply, his eyes focused on the little flower decoration on their table. He brings up his gaze and meets Jaemin’s eyes staring back at him expectantly, as if waiting for a response.

He sighs again in defeat, bringing up both of his hands in a surrendering gesture. ”Alright. Fine. This is prolly too much for us to handle.”

“Too much for _you_ to handle, you mean to say,” Jaemin corrects him in his usual sassy nature. “You’re the only one too curious and invested on Taeyong’s disappearance anyway. You’re just dragging us with you.”

Mark rolls his eyes playfully. “Don’t act like you’re not into this too. Who went out of their way to get more info from their dad? Definitely not me.”

Jeno bursts into a laughing fit, but Jaemin is quick to think of a comeback. “And who went all his way to visit a creepy doctor to ask for a medical history of a schoolmate?”

Mark just snorts back, running out of cleverness and deciding that he’ll give the win to Jaemin for now.

 

—

 _Promises are meant to be broken anyway, it’s okay,_ Mark tries to convince himself as he lies down on his bed wide awake, the only illumination in his room being his phone screen. He’s been going back and forth on Taeyong’s social media accounts to try to satiate his uncontrollable curiosity, despite promising his two friends that he’ll stop his meddling with the case.

In fact, Mark became even _more_ interested now that he discovered the mysteries surrounding his favorite senior. Whatever it is that he’s hiding or wherever he may be at the moment, Mark still can’t find it in his heart to be discouraged about idolizing him; if anything, his adoration towards him is even amplifying, seeing as he’s also as human as everyone else.

He’s still in the middle of scrolling through his instagram page, now getting as far back as his photos from 2 years ago. His feed is mostly a combination of cute selcas, artistic pictures of foods or places, and photos of him with his fellow schoolmates. Mark made a conclusion before that Taeyong doesn’t have that much social circle outside of school, and the more he stalks his social media accounts, the more he believes that his theory is true.

Until he stumbles upon a random picture around 2 years ago, probably during Taeyong’s freshman year. It’s a normal picture of seemingly three really close friends, with Taeyong in the middle and two unfamiliar boys on either sides, beaming with huge smiles for the camera and posing with peace signs on their hands. Both of them are good-looking, Mark notices; the one on the right has a distinctive tanned skin tone and has almost perfectly crescent eye smiles, while the other on the left has small but adorably rounded eyes and prominent set of teeth. The caption only has three heart symbols, not providing any information about where it was taken.

Mark taps on the photo to see if it’s tagged to any other users, and the face of the boy on the left pops up with a username, while the one on the right doesn’t have any. The comment section is completely empty too, rendering him stuck and unable to get more information on the boy on the right.

Mark sighs and decides to go to the username of the boy on the left instead, but much to his dismay, he got routed to an error message saying that the account had been deleted.

He heaves another sigh out of defeat, thinking of other ways he can possibly get into this person’s account. He goes to the search option instead and tries a variety of possible username combinations close to the one tagged on the photo.

After a few tries, Mark smiles triumphantly when an account shows up under Kim Dongyoung. The name is slightly altered from Doyoung to Dongyoung, but Mark can clearly see that it’s the same person as the one on Taeyong’s post.

He quickly taps on the profile and hisses a ‘yes!’ under his breath when the account is set to public and he can view his posts, but the account seems to be new and he finishes down to the bottom-most posts in just a few scrolls. None of his old pictures were from 2 years ago, and there are no photos of Taeyong anywhere either.

Despite meeting a dead end, Mark is still far from giving up. This boy is his only shot to have a peek at Taeyong’s life outside of their highschool, a chance to understand him a little more beyond what he shows to his schoolmates, and he’s not letting the opportunity pass by.

He gathers enough courage and taps on the contact button without hesitation. A messaging bubble comes up, and Mark pauses for a few seconds before putting all of his faith on his fingers to type a message.

His friends will definitely be upset, but he knows that they can forgive him sooner or later. Understanding Taeyong is his priority for now.

 

—

Luckily for Mark, the boy was still logged on when he messaged him and replied with a confirmation that he’s free to meet up with him in a couple of days.

Hence, the next two days went by like a blur for Mark as he religiously followed his regular schedule of studying and attending student council activities, all the while trying to contain his excitement about meeting Doyoung soon. He has so many questions to ask about Taeyong’s younger years, and although unsure if he is the right person to ask those of, Mark currently has no other leads anyway.

They scheduled to meet in a public park close to Doyoung’s school, and Mark hurried to the place as soon as their school bell went off for dismissal. They only have a bit of time to talk; apparently, Doyoung has cram school to go to at 6pm, and Mark didn’t want to be out in an unfamiliar place until evening also. He will need to cram all of his questions in a span of a couple of hours.

Mark was sitting on one of the benches looking like a lost cat in an unfamiliar park when Doyoung finally contacted him and asked where his exact spot is. He replied quickly to explain where exactly he’s been sitting, and in under two minutes, a familiar face showed up in his back.

“Um, Mark Lee, right?” The boy asks, standing behind him with a small smile. He has shiny black hair that’s slightly parted to reveal a bit of his forehead, and he’s wearing his summer school uniform without a tie and the top button undone. His polo shirt fits his shoulders so well that Mark starts to feel a little intimidated, what with his own dainty shoulders that doesn’t seem to have entered puberty yet.

By instinct, Mark stands up quickly and faces the other, bowing casually. “H-Hi. Yes, that’s my name,” he answers cheerfully. “And you’re… Kim Doyoung?”

“It’s Dongyoung, technically,” the other replies casually, his thin lips curving at the ends in an oddly pleasant manner. Mark realizes that he may not actually be smiling half of the time. “But I prefer being called Doyoung.”

“I see. That’s cool,” Mark says, controlling his voice from trembling. He really needs to work on his social skills more, he tells himself in his mind.

“So uh… How can I help you?” The elder asks, his hands placed inside the pockets of his pants. “You said you’re… a friend of Taeyong’s?”

Mark chuckles a bit, scratching the back of his head. “Well, more like his underclassman.”

“I see,” Doyoung replies. He casually sits himself on the same bench, putting his schoolbag on his lap. “Did he… leave you hanging too?”

Mark furrows his eyebrows. “What do you mean?” He asks innocently, sitting on Doyoung’s side and facing him.

The elder sighs, blankly staring at the enormous tree in front of their bench. “So what do you want to know?”

Mark remained speechless for a moment, trying to process another vague response from a person associated with Taeyong. He shakes it off and figures that he can ask him again later. “Um, well… I don’t know if you’re aware, but he’s been missing since last two weeks,” he says as relaxed as he can. “No. It’s going three weeks now, actually. The police is already involved, of course, but—”

“So what does this have to do with me?” Doyoung cuts him off sharply, finally facing him.

“Um, well…” Mark mutters sheepishly, trying to compose his next set of words. “I-I just… I thought you two are friends, and that you might have an idea about where he is.”

Doyoung stared at him for a good 10 seconds before chuckling. “You got the wrong man, boy. We haven’t kept in touch since forever.”

“So you two _are_ friends?” Mark asks, and gulps hard when he receives another cold stare from the other. “O-Or maybe… _had been_ friends in the past?”

“I’m not even sure if we ever became friends,” Doyoung replies, his gaze back at the tree in front of them. “You see, the thing with normal people is that you’ll usually know where you stand on a relationship perspective. You’ll know if you’re friends with someone even without making a formal agreement. You’ll know that someone hates you even without them telling you,” he goes on with his explanation without looking at Mark. “But with Taeyong, things were always… complicated. You’d feel like you’re friends with him, but not quite so. You’d feel that he’s nice, but something would always feel odd.”

Mark just exhales deeply, staring at Doyoung’s small but round eyes with astonishment. He just placed into words the exact same thing he feels towards Taeyong.

“I don’t know where he is. We haven’t kept in touch since freshman year,” he repeats in a more concise manner. “Ever since we were your age.”

Mark clears his throat to prepare to reply, realizing that Doyoung is done talking. “So um… how did you become friends? How did you meet?”

“Cram school,” the elder replies blankly. “We were first year students attending this after-school review center. He came to me first, and we quickly became close. We just clicked so well that we could tease each other about anything and we’d just laugh it out without taking any offense,” he explains, his small but round eyes almost gleaming as he recalls their moments.

Mark just stares back at him expectantly, waiting for him to proceed with his story.

“But I was never the type to go on parties and drinking. That’s one thing we didn’t agree on, especially when we were barely 16 back then,” Doyoung continues, slouching on his seat and leaning his head back. “He was such a wild spirit, but I cared too much about my studies and always declined him.”

“Partying? Drinking?” Mark asks lowly, the questions intended more for himself than for Doyoung. “Wild spirit?”

“Yes, and who knows what else happened during those parties,” the other replies ominously. “Don’t believe me?” He then asks playfully, pulling out his phone from his pockets.

“Taeyong would never do something like that,” Mark replies without thinking. “He would never hang out in such places, or with such people.”

Doyoung scoffs. “Do you even know what kind of person Taeyong is?” He asks mockingly as he brings up his phone and shows it to Mark.

A picture is on the screen, but Mark can’t make out the details that much. He leans a bit closer and the picture slowly registers; it was Taeyong, wearing a sleeveless black shirt and bright red pants. His hair was a bright, sliver gray color that Mark never saw on him before, and he was laughing at the camera with his eyes shut as he held a bottle of alcohol in one hand. His other hand was on the shoulders of another boy, the same tan-skinned boy he saw on his post with Doyoung. The background of the picture was a bit dark, but it was obviously shot in a party. 

“This is the only remaining photo that I have of him, taken from Ten’s old social media account that’s been deleted,” Doyoung continues to explain after he put his phone back in his pockets. “Taeyong and I were really close before, until one day he just… became cold and passive. We didn’t argue about it and he remained the same nice person to me, but something was different, as if he suddenly lost interest in me. That was after the night I declined him on going to a party and he brought Ten instead.”

Mark was pulled back from his thoughts and faces the other. “That was the other boy in your trio photo, right?”

Doyoung smiles, and Mark isn’t sure if he’s truly amused or his lips’ are just naturally curved that way. “You’re bright,” he says playfully. “He’s full name is Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul. It’s a mouthful, I know. He’s from Thailand. He went to the same school as me, but we didn’t really know each other until Taeyong befriended him at cram school and introduced him to me.”

Mark gasps in awe and just nods back, waiting for the other to continue.

“He was this naïve and obedient boy attending the review center for Korean language studies. That’s where we all met,” the other explains. “And Taeyong changed him from head to toe.”

“What… What is that supposed to mean?” Mark asks, his heartbeat starting to race.

Doyoung stares back at him sharply. “He gradually became a different person after that one night they went out. Eventually, he stopped coming to the review center and dropped out of highschool, succumbing to a life of partying and drinking. I have no idea what happened that one night, but something changed Ten. Taeyong changed him.”

“I-I don’t understand,” Mark says, shaking his head in confusion. “Why did Taeyong look so different in that photo? Back at school, he’d never—”

“Because he’s vague and kind and cruel all at the same time,” Doyoung cuts him off, pushing himself up to stand. He swings his backpack on one arm and stares at Mark’s eyes directly. “He was really something. He’s both nice and cruel, luring people in and providing them what they need, and then he ruins them.”

“But I don’t understand. Something must’ve happened that night, but I’m sure it wasn’t Taeyong’s fault,” Mark tries to argue, standing up from his seat as well. “I-I’ll prove it to you. He might be in trouble right now. I’m worried about him, and—”

“I’d rather not be involved, to be honest,” Doyoung cuts him off again, placing a hand on Mark’s head in a friendly gesture. “The reason I agreed to see you is to warn you too, that you shouldn’t get involved with him too much. Turns out he actually went missing now.”

“No, I…” Mark replies, but couldn’t focus on completing a coherent sentence at all. “This is… Taeyong isn’t like this.”

Doyoung just sighs, pulling out his phone again from his pockets. “If you need more convincing, you can go to Ten yourself,” he says casually as he taps on his phone. “I’m not sure if this is still accurate, but I believe Ten settled in Hongdae area after he dropped out of highschool. The last thing I heard about him from our schoolmates is that he was working for this shady… gay bar somewhere in that area. I’ll send you the details on your phone.”

Mark gulps hard before reaching for his own phone in his pocket. He turns on his bluetooth connection and accepted the request coming from Doyoung’s device, receiving the name of the place as well as the coordinates on Google Maps.

“You can try your luck and check if you can see him there,” Doyoung says. “Just ask people around. You’re a minor, you shouldn’t go directly to the bar.”

Mark just hums in return, staring at his phone screen blankly.

“I need to get going. Take care of yourself,” Doyoung says after a few seconds, tapping him on the shoulder before taking his leave.

Mark watches him walk away, confused and upset and weirded out. His questions were answered, yet he’s left with more bewilderment than before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> uwu
> 
> it’s starting to get dark~
> 
> i apologize for the incredibly late update btw agadkgfsgstlskahsgsmnb


	4. dance with the devil

_2 years ago_

 

It’s Friday night, and it’s probably the single most nerve-wrecking and exciting moment in the whole 15 years of Ten’s life. He didn’t have an idea how exhilarating breaking out of the comfort zone can be, how that first taste of something forbidden can be sinfully satisfying.

Taeyong assured him that they will never be caught, that he’ll take care of him the rest of the way, that he’ll have the best moment of his life—Ten agreed to go with the biggest of smiles, the excitement in the pit of his stomach churning and twisting and making butterflies flutter at the thought of it.

It’s 9 o’clock and he’s standing just outside the empty, unfinished building Taeyong instructed him to go to. It’s dead quiet outside the abandoned construction, but when he tried to peek inside a while ago, he saw a certain area inside the spacious building that is covered in white curtains in all corners. They must’ve set it up to try to hide the party happening inside it, but it’s quite a useless effort; the wall of curtains occasionally gets painted in flashes of colorful lights from the inside, and the heavy music can clearly be heard due to the dead silence of the night.

But Taeyong said that it’s fine, that they held multiple parties in this place and have never been caught by the authorities. The area is indeed far from the usual populated parts of the city, and it’s eerily dark outside that people won’t even approach the abandoned building if they ever happen to pass by.

 _”Hey mom, I won’t be coming home tonight. I’ll finish a project with my friends in his place.”_ he rereads the sent message on his phone one last time. He wonders if it’s enough to convince his parents and thought of sending them hourly updates that he’s doing fine, but that would probably be too suspicious. Taeyong said that his excuse should seem innocent but confident. He decides that it should do for now and shoves his phone back to his pockets. 

He closes his eyes and breathes deeply, feeling excited and worried at the same time. He’ll literally be alone in that place when he comes in; he never met any of Taeyong’s other friends, and no one else from their cram school was invited. What if the people are mean? Taeyong said that they’re all highschoolers too, but Ten is sure that they’re the cool ones that probably won’t pay attention to him at all.

He’s supposed to come with Doyoung, but the boy was too uptight about it and rain checked on him last minute. Ten got down-spirited for a short time before deciding that he’d go alone instead. Taeyong is expecting them—expecting _him_. He can’t let him down.

With one last sigh, he braces himself and finally enters the abandoned building, walking slowly to the area where the party is taking place. The music is getting louder and louder the closer he gets, until he’s literally just a few inches away from the white curtains. It’s almost translucent in that short distance that Ten can somewhat see what’s happening inside, albeit being blurry.

He feels a sudden vibration in his pocket, distracting his thoughts. He reaches for his phone and unlocks it, and a text message from his parents pops up: _”Alright. Go home safely tomorrow morning. Love you.”_

A pang of guilt hits him hard, but Ten swallows it in one big gulp. He made up his mind the moment he left cram school and dropped by a boutique store for a change of clothes. He made up his mind the moment Taeyong invited him days ago with his bright smile and gleaming eyes, promising him a night of fun that he’ll never forget for the rest of his life.

He’s already standing there, with only a thin layer of cloth separating him from the kind of life and acknowledgement he’s always dreamed of—to be regarded as a cool guy, to be acknowledged as one of them, to be like Taeyong. He’s not blowing up an opportunity like this.

He puts his phone back to his pocket and examines the wall of curtains until he finds the gap that serves as the entrance, yanking it open. There’s no turning back now.

The moment he yanks the curtain to view the inside, Ten was dumbstruck. It feels surreal how vastly different the inside is compared to the cold and empty remains of an unfinished building outside. The place he enters to somehow magically looks like a club, with groups of people walking and dancing and laughing around without a care in the world. Ten estimates that there must be a little over 20 people in that space, all glammed up in fancy clothes and make up.

The lights are dimmed but colorful in different shades of red, purple and blue. The bass blaring from the speakers are heavy that it seems to be in sync with his heartbeat, rendering him a bit out of breath despite standing still. There’s a faint, thin cloud of smoke emanating in the middle of the place where most of the crowd is huddled, but it doesn’t smell like cigarette like he’d expect when he somehow catches a whiff of it. It smells very chemical and odd.

He’s standing near the edges close to the wall of curtains, feeling out of place as soon as he entered. He managed to come inside, but he’s stunned and overwhelmed that he can’t seem to move a muscle. It feels like entering a completely different dimension.

What his feet lacks in motion though was compensated by his rapidly observing eyes; he’s been scanning the whole area for that familiar face ever since he stepped in, looking for the boy that promised to guide him all the way with his first party. He’s unable to ask anyone as they never get too close to the entrance to notice him, and he can’t muster the initiative either to approach them first while they’re too lost in their own little worlds. He’s not particularly shy most of the time; being surrounded by complete strangers just doesn’t sit too well with him.

The music suddenly changes to a more mellow tune, and the crowd tames down a bit. The people huddled in the middle suddenly disperses, scattering themselves around the emptier areas to resume their drinking and probably rest for a bit. Ten sets his eyes in the middle of the place, noticing that a low platform is set up there to serve like a little stage for the people dancing.

He squints his eyes to better see the only person left in the middle, and gets utterly surprised when it dawns on him.

Taeyong is standing in the middle as he stares back at him, blankly. Ten smiles, slightly taken aback as he almost didn’t recognize him in his wild silver hair (the boy joked about it days ago but Ten never believed that he has the guts to do it), sleeveless black shirt and red leather pants.

It took a few seconds before Taeyong smiles back, perhaps surprised that he did actually show up. He waves at him and started walking towards his direction.

The closer Taeyong walks to him, the more the details get clearer. He’s sweaty and his hair is messed up in such a way that makes Ten feel a mixture of both attraction and envy, of both lust and insecurity. He looks too hypnotizing with his sharp stare that Ten can’t avert his gaze away from him.

Taeyong eventually reaches his spot, standing just a few inches away from his face. “Hey!” He almost shouts at him, placing both of his arms in his shoulders as if pulling him close for a kiss. “You made it,” he says in a low, smooth tone. He then chuckles a bit, closes his eyes and bumps their foreheads together.

Ten’s heart feels like it’s going to burst out of his chest. Taeyong’s forehead is hot, almost as if he’s having a fever. His breath touches his lips when he exhales, and the smell of alcohol strongly reeks from him, but Ten finds it oddly satisfying.

Taeyong eventually breaks away from him and chuckles, ruffling Ten’s hair in the process. “How’re you?”

“I-I’m good,” he stutters for a response, trying to regain composure. “Y-You really did dye your hair silver. Wow.”

“Well, it’s more gray than silver, really. But I still like it,” Taeyong says in a mischievous tone, pulling a few strands of his own hair and examining it. “I’ll dye it black before school starts on Monday. I’ll enjoy it now while I still can!”

“Yeah!” Ten replies with a smile, slowly getting back on his feet. “Um, so what am I going to do here?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Taeyong replies, grinning from ear to ear. “We’re gonna have fun!”

Ten just laughs in response; that answer is vague, but he can trust him when it comes to having fun.

Another boy suddenly approaches them with two bottles of beer, handing one to him and the other to Taeyong. He studies the boy’s features and gets taken aback for the second time that night. He can pass for a model with those looks.

“I know, this is a bit weak,” the boy says when Ten almost didn’t want to get the bottle from him. “But more booze is on its way now. Just suck up on these for now.”

“Ten, I’d like you to meet Jaehyun,” Taeyong says, introducing the tall and ridiculously good-looking carrier of beers. “He co-hosted this party with me. It wouldn’t even happen if not for him.”

Ten just nods in acknowledgement, wondering how Taeyong even befriended a nobody like him when his other friends are equally as popular and good-looking as him, then he remembers the cold bottle of beer in his hand; this Jaehyun just thought that he was reluctant to take it because it’s too weak. Does that mean he looks like someone who can take his alcohol very well, that he looks like he’s one of them? Did Taeyong take him under his wing believing that he has the potential to be a popular guy too?

He can’t disappoint them now, he decides. He brings the bottle to his lips and drinks the beer, trying to impress the two boys watching him. He gets surprised that it tastes a bit metallic and bitter and hot when it sloshes down his throat, but he didn’t falter. He didn’t find the taste good, but he’s able to take a gulp of beer for the first time without choking. He feels proud.

“Good job!” Taeyong cheers, placing an arm over his shoulder. “How is it, big boy?”

Ten wants to say that he can’t figure out how people find that good, but this is what the cool kids are having. This is what probably runs in their veins and floods their minds. It’s their gasoline.

“It’s… good!” He lies, beaming a smile at the other.

Taeyong just stared back at him with an unrecognizable expression before smiling back. “That’s the spirit! We’ll have a long night to go, then!”

Ten nods his head, shouting ‘yeah!’ to drown out the foreboding thoughts in his mind that warns him to turn back now while he still can.

 

—

Countless bottles of cheap beer after and Ten realizes that the reason why people drink this godforsaken liquid is not because of how it tastes, but because of how it _feels_.

He couldn’t remember anymore how he got in there, but he was in the middle of the platform, dancing with a bunch of people that were all strangers to him just a little while ago. Ten enjoys dancing, but has always been too shy to show it off. The alcohol helped him break free.

Taeyong was always around him too, making sure that he wouldn’t make a fool of himself too much. Occasionally, he warned him to slow down on the booze, but Ten could feel that he’s still manageable. Despite swaying around tipsily and mindlessly laughing at everything even without a reason, he knew that his feet is still on the ground, not high up in the clouds. Either the beer was really weak like Jaehyun mentioned, or he just has a surprisingly high tolerance for alcohol.

There was only one time that Taeyong wasn’t around to look out for him, and it was because he was busy sitting on Jaehyun’s lap and kissing him deeply. He didn’t mean to creep on them as they made out in the corner where the huge speakers are set up, but Ten just couldn’t believe his eyes. He thought that it must be the intoxication fucking with his mind and making him hallucinate, but even after scratching his eyes and slapping himself, the vision didn’t change. They were passionately kissing each other; Taeyong looked small as he sat there on the taller boy’s lap, hands placed on Jaehyun’s nape as if desperately pushing him closer to his face.

He turned around and pretended that he didn’t see anything, heading back to the dance stage to divert his attention. He drank even more after that, consuming drinks after drinks of which names are completely foreign to him as he tried to drown out the surfacing feeling of envy.

Taeyong is the embodiment of his teenage dreams; a pretty face, a clever mind, an army of cool friends that bow to him like a king, and a partner that probably makes him see bursts of neon colors behind his eyes when they touch. He can do everything that he wanted, enjoying his life to the fullest at such a young age. 

He’s friends with him and loves him as such, but the jealousy and insecurity consume him too much at times.

So he resumed partying mindlessly to distract himself, his consciousness slowly slipping away from his hands. By the time he realizes that he’s been drinking too much, he's already rushing to the entrance curtains to throw up. He barely makes it and feels his throat giving in, making a mess on the floor in front of him.

Discharging the alcohol out of his system allowed him to grasp a little of his fading consciousness, suddenly being aware of his surroundings. He’s kneeling on the floor and wriggling in stomach discomfort when a hand taps his shoulder, catching his attention.

“Looks like someone had a little too much fun,” says Jaehyun, flashing him an angelic smile. He grabs his arms and prompts him to stand.

Ten’s knees are too weak to stand on their own. Jaehyun seems to be aware of it and offers his wide shoulders for Ten to hang on to as they walk to the nearest chair.

“Here, have some water,” the other says as he hands him a bottle. Ten grabs it by impulse and drinks, wondering for a bit why it tastes so bland until he recalls that it’s called water and that it exists. He laughs after taking a gulp of it, wiping forming tears from the corners of his eyes caused by the awful feeling of throwing up a while ago. “I just forgot what water is and how it tastes like.”

Jaehyun laughs and kneels a bit to meet him face to face, holding his chin to prompt him to stare back at him. “Taeyong and I are very impressed of you. We’d like to let you in on a little secret.”

Ten holds back a laugh from surfacing, worried that he might barf on Jaehyun’s beautiful face just a few inches away from his own if he tried laughing. He nods instead, despite not caring about what the boy just said. His head is spinning and his mind feels clouded. He’s not really in the mood for a talk.

Jaehyun prompts him up again and helps him walk, heading to the same corner where the speakers are located, the same corner where he found them eating each other’s faces. Ten scoffs but didn’t say a thing, letting the other drag him to secret passages and downward staircases hidden in that tiny corner that he didn’t notice before.

His consciousness that was floating around a while ago suddenly comes back to him in one swift blow when Jaehyun settled him to sit on a cushion. He shakes his head to clear his vision, and his surroundings slowly registers.

He must be in an underground room of some sort, seeing that they took a flight of stairs going down. They’re in a narrow strip of corridor, the floor fully carpeted and the walls painted red. He’s sitting on a black couch and Jaehyun is standing in front of him, his arms crossed and his back leaning against the wall. Everything his eyes set on is being illuminated by dim red lights, even Jaehyun’s smiling face.

“I can see that you’re slowly getting back to your senses,” he says in a low tone.

Ten can hear the muffled party music taking place above them but ignores it. “Where are we? Where’s Taeyong?”

“He’s here,” Jaehyun replies, pointing to a wooden door at the end of the short corridor. “See that door over there? He’s waiting for you.”

Ten is confused, furrowing his eyebrows. He looks at the opposite side to his left and sees the staircase that must be leading up to where the party is happening.

“You adore Taeyong, don’t you?” Jaehyun catches his attention again, speaking in a low tone. “He has something to tell you. Come on.”

Ten didn’t need any more urging and stands up, his knees a bit stronger than before. He walks as straight as possible to the door until he reaches it. He settles his hand on the doorknob and looks back at Jaehyun one last time, giving him an encouraging smile. He turns the knob open and slowly pushes it open.

The room behind the door is spacious and a bit more illuminated compared to the corridor outside. The room is also painted in a deep red color, with one of the walls covered in hanging mirrors of different sizes and shapes. An enormous couch is in the middle, covered in white fur that reminds Ten of angel feathers. Taeyong is sitting on it with his legs crossed, as if waiting for him.

Ten is more confused than ever, but his mind is still swimming in alcohol to bother thinking. He steps in, closes the door behind him, and stands in the middle as sober-looking as possible.

Taeyong stands up, grabbing him by the hand and ushering him to sit on the couch. He then turns around to grab a glass of cold water from the built in bar in one of the corners of the room.

“This is some fancy room,” Ten says, amused. He stares at the ceiling above him and almost chuckles at how it spins slowly in his mind.

“Ten, you’re an amusing guy” Taeyong suddenly says, walking back to him with the glass of water. He hands it to him and Ten starts drinking it frantically, as if desperate to quench his thirst. “Curiously amusing.”

Ten finishes the entire glass of water with a deep exhale, settling the empty glass beside him on the couch. “Thanks, I guess?”

Taeyong chuckles, sitting beside him. “Aren’t you wondering where you are? Or where we get our money for holding parties like these?”

Ten just hums, still staring at the spinning ceiling above him.

Taeyong smirks before continuing. ”We need you to be our friend, Ten. We need your help.”

“We’re already friends,” Ten replies mindlessly, dropping his head against the soft couch behind him, remembering how good he was at interacting with the people in the party. “What kind of help do you need?”

Taeyong turns a bit to face him, his eyes almost squinting. “I need your help to… establish a connection, between highschoolers.”

“Mhmm?” Ten hums, closing his eyes and trying to absorb as much information as possible.

“You see, our group of friends is very small. You’ll meet them soon, Johnny and Yuta,” Taeyong explains, his voice a bit blank and low. “They provide students like us what we normally can’t get our hands on. They help young kids like us explore ourselves more freely, away from the prying eyes of the adults. They let us have our own lives in our own hands, where they rightfully belong in the first place.”

Ten furrows his eyebrows and stares back at Taeyong, his vision still blurry. “So your point is?”

Taeyong chuckles mischievously, suddenly standing up and sitting on Ten’s lap. He arches his back and leans closer to his face, his lips almost touching his ears. “Point is, I think you and I are going to be very good partners.”

Ten is even more aware of his surroundings now after feeling Taeyong’s weight on him, becoming sober and sober by the seconds. “W-What’re you doing?”

“Doing what you can’t do,” Taeyong teases him, smiling devilishly. “You have _so_ much things you want, but not so much confidence to actually do them, right? I can help you with that.”

Ten furrows his eyebrows again, feeling vulnerable that the other can easily see through him and his insecurities. “W-Why are you doing this? You’re with Jaehyun, aren’t you?”

The question paints an amused expression on Taeyong’s face. He then cups Ten’s cheeks in his hands and brings it up, forcing him to look at his eyes. “You were spying on us?”

“N-No, I… I just saw it,” Ten replies, their eyes meeting for a brief moment before he averts his gaze away and looks down on his chest instead.

“Is that jealousy I see in your eyes?” Taeyong teases him again, hands still cupping his face. “…or envy?”

Ten remains silent and manages to finally look at the other’s face, ignoring the prohibitions in his mind and lets his heart out. “I don’t know.”

Taeyong smiles, letting go of his face and placing his hands on his shoulders instead. “You don’t know yourself that much, but I know you. I can see you deeply,” he says, still sitting on his lap. “You weren’t jealous because you like me. You were envious because you _want_ to be like me.”

Ten remains silent, his breathing becoming erratic. The alcohol is slowly wearing off along with his confidence.

Taeyong seems to have noticed it and pushes Ten’s sweaty fringe away from his forehead, revealing his bare face. “You are beautiful, Ten. You have the sweetest of voices I’ve ever heard. The most exotic eyes I’ve ever seen,” he says in a low tone, his eyes almost gleaming.

Ten’s chest feels like it’s going to burst. “R-Really?”

“Of course,” Taeyong replies blankly. “I showed you a portion of my world, but there’s so much more that you haven’t seen yet,” he continues with a small smile, staring at his eyes lovingly. “I can show you more of it. You can be whatever you want to be. You can be part of that world.”

“I want to be part of that world,” Ten replies in a haze, his mind fuzzy and his stomach fluttering with butterflies. “I want to be in your world, Taeyong. I want to be like you.”

Taeyong smiles, his right hand leaving Ten’s shoulders to reach for the pockets in his pants. ”The entrance to that world is in your senses,” he says as he pulls out a small blue pill. “And the key is in your mouth. Show me your tongue, and I’ll show you my world.”

Ten is flabbergasted, but does what he’s being asked regardless. Taeyong’s eyes and voice are too hypnotizing to do otherwise.

Taeyong places the pill in his tongue, and nods at him to urge him to swallow it. Ten brings it in his mouth but keeps it settled in his tongue, trying to give it a taste.

Taeyong must have noticed it as he arches his back again, leaning closer to his ears to whisper. “Swallow it.”

Ten feels a sudden vibration in his pocket, thinking that it must be from his parents checking on him. He ignores it as Taeyong’s sitting on top of him, whispering a command to him.

With his eyes shut, he does as he’s told and finally swallows the pill. He feels Taeyong’s lips on his forehead, planting a sweet kiss before whispering ‘good boy.’

And in a matter of minutes, he’s mind is gone. He falls in love with the medicine he’s on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it’s a short update i’m sorry  
> i wrote this while listening to chase atlantic’s cassie and some lyrics creeped in to the writing LMAO  
> check it out if you guys want. it fits this update very much lol
> 
> BTW the tags have been updated too.  
> PEACE!!!!


End file.
